St. Francis wins NEC for 1st NCAA quote considering that 1991
Mar 11, 2025, 09:58 PM ET NEW BRITAIN, Conn.– Daemar Kelly struck a go-ahead jumper with nine seconds left and Chris Moncrief made 1 of 2 complimentary tosses after he stole the ball to assist St. Francis (Pa.) stun top-seeded Central Connecticut State 46-43 on Tuesday night to win the Northeastern Conference competition championship.It ended the country’s longest active win streak at 14 and earned the Red Flash their second journey to the NCAA tournament.No. 3 seed St. Francis(16-17) had lost five in a row to
heaven Devils (25-7), consisting of two times this season by a combined 31 points. The Red Flash won their only other conference tournament in 1991. The fourth time was the beauty for head coach Rob Krimmel, who lost in 3 previous trips to the title game in 2017, ’19 and ’20. Editor’s Picks St. Francis freshman Juan Cranford Jr. and Blue Devils’junior Devin Haid both scored 14 and were the only players
to reach double figures.According to ESPN Research, the last time a Division I team won its conference tournament championship without reaching 50 points was Georgia State in the 2015 Sun
Belt Conference championship game, when it beat Georgia Southern 38-36. The 2 groups played to a 20-20 tie in a cold-shooting very first half.Cranford opened the 2nd half with a 3-pointer, and he hit a jumper to provide the Red Flash a
37-33 lead with 9:50 left. Central Connecticut State scored the next four
points, however Riley Parker answered with a 3-pointer to put St. Francis up 3 with 7:20 left.The Red Flash led by four when Haid made 2 complimentary tosses to end a five-minute scoring drought for heaven Devils. He missed his next two shots before sinking a jumper to connect it at 41 with 1:42
left. Valentino Pinedo had a consent basket however missed an opportunity at a three-point play. Joe Ostrowsky connected it for the last time with 17 seconds left. Haid missed out on a 3-pointer to end it.Information from The Associated Press was utilized in this report.